BECAUSE of Adam Kirby’s prolificacy on the all-weather tracks, he has struggled on occasion to shake the notion that he is ‘only’ an all-weather rider. His rides on Profitable in Group 2 Temple Stakes at Haydock on Saturday, and on Zonderland in the Listed Heron Stakes at Sandown on Thursday evening, were consolidation of the fact that he is top notch on turf as well.

It is true that Kirby rides a lot on all-weather tracks. In the last five years, he has had far more rides at Wolverhampton and Kempton and on Lingfield’s all-weather track than he has had at any other track. He is top class at those tracks, as strike rates of 22% and 21% at Lingfield and Wolverhampton respectively tell you.